Her Sister and the Werewolf
by Ophelia Hoss
Summary: How would Harry's Aunt Petunia have been changed if she fell in love with one of Lily's wizard friends?
1. At Lily's House

The Sister  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters within it.  
  
Note: This is what could have happened in the time of the marauders, and  
  
how an unexpected romance between two characters nearly changes the future.  
  
Lily Evans and James Potter held hands as they alongside the  
  
street to her house.Sirius Black kept making jokes about how it had been only   
  
weeks ago that Lily despised James, or at least pretended to.Now they were  
  
a couple.   
  
Peter Pettigrew laughed at Sirius' jokes in a half-hearted way as if  
  
he didn't want to offend anybody but still participate in the fun.None of   
  
them had ever been to Lily's house yet, although she had shown them pictures.  
  
"You know," she commented without turning around," I never really  
  
hated James. Besides, I've learned that there is more to him as a person  
  
than playing rude tricks and showing off."  
  
"Yeah," said Sirius in an offhand way,"I bet there's more to Snape as  
  
well, but it doesn't mean I'm giong to sneak into the Slytherin dorms some  
  
night next year and declare my love for-"  
  
"SIRIUS!"  
  
This time it was James and he had turned around angrily to end the   
  
bad comedy routine. His annoyed expression morphed into worry almost immediately.  
  
"Hey, where's Remus?"  
  
Peter spoke this time,"He went back to look for some book he dropped  
  
along the way."  
  
"Let's go," Sirius urged,"I think a werewolf can take care of himself.  
  
He knows what the house looks like. We all do..."  
  
Lily nodded and they continued past brick houses and cars.It was mainly  
  
a muggle street, but she knew of a few wizards and witches in the area, and  
  
which houses they lived in.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Petunia Evans stood in a dark,upstairs hallway and pushed the heavy   
  
curtains of the only window aside slightly,allowing her to spy without being  
  
caught.  
  
Outside,it was late afternoon,and the sky was becoming heavily veiled   
  
by dark storm clouds.According to the weather report, rain was to be expected  
  
every day for the next week.Four people came into view about 6 houses down,   
  
walking closer.  
  
Petunia squinted a bit; one of them was her sister.She groaned.It seemed  
  
as if Lily was bringing three of those wizard freaks home.The one at the back   
  
of the group had the general aura of one timid and untrusting, along with a   
  
chubby face and light, wispy hair.His clothes were loose so Petunia couldn't  
  
tell how chubby the rest of him was. Lily was holding hands with another, who  
  
had a head full of unruly black hair and wore glasses with thin frames.The third  
  
member of the group ran around Lily and her boyfriend with a stick, looking like  
  
he wanted to poke someone.He was more attractive than both of the others, but  
  
also looked like a reckless idiot. It didn't take long for them to reach the   
  
driveway.  
  
Petunia turned sharply and went up to the attic, which she had turned into  
  
a sort of library.The last thing on earth she wanted was to meet those morons,or  
  
even know that they were in her house.  
  
Downstairs, the front door opened and Lily brought her friends inside.  
  
None of them bothered to wipe their feet on the doormat.  
  
"Sit down," she told them, and Sirius threw himself onto a plaid sofa.  
  
Peter slowly moved to the carpeted floor, in front of a grandfather clock.  
  
James, still standing, asked,"Could we get somehthing to eat?"  
  
"Whatever's in the refridgerator,"Lily replied.This caused a race between  
  
her guests to find the kitchen.A knock came softly at the front door and Lily  
  
opened it, as she was the only person left in the room to do so.Remus entered,  
  
clutching a book to his chest as the first drops of rain began to fall."Hi,  
  
Lily," he said.  
  
"Everyone is in the kitchen,"she told him,"It's at the other end of the   
  
hall."  
  
Remus followed Lily into the kitchen, where they found James and Peter  
  
riffling through the refridgerator and Sirius licking something off a spoon.  
  
He dipped the spoon back into a container.  
  
"Honestly!"Lily exclaimed,"Eating out of the container!Well, you can have   
  
the whole thing to yourself now."He dropped the spoon onto the floor and began to   
  
dig into the cake frosting with his fingers.  
  
James stepped away from the refridgerator with a slice of cold pizza in his  
  
hand, and asked,"So, what is this great book you doubled back for."  
  
Remus hesitated and clutched it more closely.  
  
"Come on, Moony,"James prodded,"It's not like anyone else is here.Are they,  
  
Lily?"  
  
"Only my sister.Our parents are gone for the next three days."  
  
Sirius was in disbelief. "And you aren't going to DO anything while they're  
  
gone?!"  
  
"She did," James said,"She let you into her house,Padfoot."  
  
Remus took a deep breath and held out his book.The cover said "Coping with   
  
Lycanthropy"  
  
Instantly, his friends became more supportive. It made Lily feel uncomfortable.  
  
She left upstairs to find Petunia while telling them,"I'll get my sister.I want   
  
all of you to meet her." 


	2. The Overlooked Guest

Rain was beating down hard and without mercy outside,  
  
by the time Lily had searched the second floor.She began to   
  
ascend the hanging ladder to the attic, the only place left   
  
where Petunia could be hiding.There was a wooden trapdoor   
  
left open on the ceiling, which the ladder was attatched to.  
  
Lily stuck her head through and saw her sister lying on the   
  
dusty floor with a flashlight and open book.  
  
"Hello,Petunia,"Lily greeted her,"Could you do me a   
  
favor and come downstairs for a minute?"  
  
Petunia sat up and said,"Only if I have to."  
  
Lily grinned.  
  
"Yeah, you have to.I have some of my friends over and   
  
they want to meet you.Please?"  
  
Petunia sighed in an overly dramatic way and shut off   
  
the flashlight. Suddenly, it was too dark to see anything but   
  
shadows, as rain was obscuring the only window. Lily descended  
  
as the narrow frame of her sister began to appear at the trapdoor.  
  
Her thin fingers gripped the rope tightly; she wanted to show   
  
how much of a burden this would be. 30 seconds of watching them  
  
out a window had really been enough.  
  
When they reached the kitchen, Lily shrieked in absolute   
  
horror. Sirius did the same when he saw her rage.   
  
One of his hands was frozen in midair, about to hurl   
  
fruit salad at James. Peter kneeled in dusting of flour, covered   
  
in the white powder, and James sat slumped against a wall with an  
  
open bottle of syrup aimed at Sirius. The sink was running. A   
  
glass jar of wheat germ lay smashed near the stove. Some kind of  
  
red juice ran down the wall in streams.  
  
"Excuse us, Petunia," she said tensely. As Petunia hurried  
  
into the living room, she heard a voice plead,"No, Lily! I swear I  
  
was only trying to stop Sirius! The syrup is for self-defense!"  
  
She listened at the door.  
  
A new voice cut in,"Ooh, James is in trouble with his   
  
girlfriend!" There was a bit of laughter.  
  
"Sirius Black!" screeched Lily,"I'd stop laughing if I were  
  
you!"  
  
"Yeah,"James added,"After all, YOU started it with the frosting   
  
on the oven door!"  
  
Lily yelled,"WHAT?!"  
  
There came the sound of an oven door opening , a gasp of shock,   
  
and a loud smack.  
  
"Ow!" This time it was Sirius. James and the third boy, Petunia  
  
guessed, were laughing. That was enough. She turned around and jumped in   
  
shock to see somebody else on their sofa. He had been reading a book,  
  
but closed it quickly when she noticed him. They stared at each other  
  
for a good minute.  
  
This one hadn't been with the group; she would have noticed. He had   
  
thin, pointy features and looked tired, or frail. Light brown hair fell   
  
limply over his pale forehead as he stood up.  
  
"Well, what's happening in the kitchen?"  
  
"My sister is angry," she admitted, suddenly ashamed that she had  
  
been caught eavesdropping. "By the way, I'm Petunia."  
  
"I'm one of Lily's friends from Hog- well, you know. My name is   
  
Remus Lupin." He fell back down on the sofa, appearing to be drained of  
  
energy from the effort of standing. Petunia looked to where he had shoved   
  
the book behind a pillow, and managed to see the words "Coping with Ly-"  
  
He shoved it farther out of sight.  
  
"Are you not feeling well?" Petunia asked , more out of prying   
  
curiosity than concern.  
  
"Food poisoning," he lied,"I got it from eating raw oysters." The  
  
truth was that there had been a full moon only two nights before.  
  
Petunia sat down as well, keeping a respectable distance from him.  
  
The door opened quicklyenough to slam against a wall and in waltzed Sirius,  
  
dusting flour from his clothes. He leaped onto the sofa in between Remus  
  
and Petunia, draping an arm over each. Petunia stiffened but didn't move.  
  
""Well Pet, Moony," he said, earning a kick to the ankle from Remus,  
  
"it's really coming down out there. In fact, it's going to flood. Lily   
  
wants us all to stay overnight. In guest rooms, of course. It just would   
  
be stupid to fly in this weather."  
  
"Fly?" Petunia choked out.  
  
"How else would you expect us to travel?" sirius asked, as if it were  
  
common knowledge, then adding,"Oh, I forgot, you're a muggle!"  
  
She frowned at the word.  
  
"It's called 'tact' " Remus whispered.  
  
Sirius mumbled a quick apology and jumped back up, standing on a chair.  
  
"Watch this!" he announced while pulling out a thin stick and holding  
  
it up."I can make the ceiling look like the night sky!"  
  
"NO!" Remus ordered leaning forward.His warning came too late, and Petunia   
  
was nearly blinded by a brilliant white light. It faded and she screamed.   
  
A flock of wild birds flew in circles near the ceiling, swoopind down at them.  
  
One knocked a picture frame off a chest and it smashed.  
  
"I can fix,ugh, OW!"  
  
Sirius had collapsed on the floorwith the chair flipped over, pinning him  
  
down. His wand rolled away. Remus stood up and said a few words with his own  
  
wand out. The birds disappeared.  
  
"I have a headache," he told Petunia,"Could you please show me to your  
  
medicine cabinet?"  
  
She nodded, still shaken, andwalked around the fallen chair.  
  
"Remus!" Sirius half-yelled,"You aren't going to get this chair off me?!  
  
Come on! Please! It's going to crush my lungs!"  
  
Remus ignored him and shut the door on his pleads for help, following  
  
Petunia upstairs. 


	3. Discord

Note: This will definitely continue. To everyone who sent reviews, thanks!  
  
"I'm so sorry!" Remus told her,"First he comes in and nearly destroys your  
  
kitchen! Then, the living room!"  
  
"You don't need to apologize for him," Petunia said,"since none of it was   
  
your fault."   
  
She flicked on a switch and light flooded the upstairs hall. Remus followed  
  
her into a spacious bathroom with the color scheme of black and pink. The shower   
  
was the size of a small pool, had wooden walls, and doubled as a sauna.  
  
As he looked around, a bottle of white tablets was placed into one of his  
  
hands.  
  
"Oh, I don't really need this," he explained,"If I really had a headache,  
  
I could get rid of it with magic."  
  
"Then why did you lie?" asked Petunia, taking the medicine back and stowing   
  
it in a cabinet near the ceiling. She had to climb onto the sink to reach it.  
  
"To escape the chaos without being rude," he suggested.  
  
She climbed down and said," Good enough reason. By the way, thanks for  
  
getting rid of the birds back in the living room. I'm not used to those type of   
  
shocks."  
  
Remus took this as an invitation to discuss life as a muggle, thinking it   
  
would give him insights about the "normal life."  
  
"What's it like to live with Lily?" he asked.  
  
"Fine," she replied. Petunia immediately bristled, but Remus took no notice;  
  
he was too preoccupied with inspecting the pink ceiling.  
  
"I wouldn't like it myself," he commented,"if I was a muggle with a magic  
  
sibling. Isn't it frustrating when everyone assumes you're envoius of their life..."  
  
He had ventured too far with a sensitive topic. There was a flash of long   
  
fingers as Petunia slapped him without warning.  
  
"Who said I was jealous of Lily?!" she snapped, not waiting for an answer.  
  
"How DARE you speak to me about such things?!" She ran outinto the hall and slammed  
  
the bathroom door, leaving Remus inside.   
  
Petunia was on her way to the attic when a voice called,"Wait!"  
  
It was her sister, standing at the end of the hall.  
  
"Were going to eat dinner soon. I found a casserole in the freezer and it's  
  
defrosting."  
  
Petunia hesitated before replying stiffly," I'll be there in a few minutes."  
  
Lily retreated.  
  
Remus opened the door when he thought it was safe and looked out cautiously,  
  
just to make sure. There was nobody in the hall, so he hurried downstairs and into   
  
the living room.  
  
"Decided to come back for me?" Sirius asked hoarsely. It sounded as if he had   
  
screamed and yelled for a length of time, and he was still trapped. "Don't step on  
  
my wand!"  
  
Remus looked aside and saw the thin stick resting near his foot on the carpet.  
  
"What makes you think I'm here to help?" he grumbled, while kneeling down and   
  
gripping the chair anyway. It was a recliner covered in the same plaid material as  
  
the sofa. It was also unbelievably heavy.  
  
Remus said something under his breath that Sirius couldn't hear and continued  
  
in an angry voice. "You know, I'm going to need some help if you ever want to get  
  
this chair off! You can't just lie there and watch!"  
  
Both of them worked together against gravity and it finally flipped over in the   
  
opposite direction, bumping into a book shelf. A porcelain fairy fell off and  
  
smashed.  
  
"It had a metal frame," Sirius announced, coughing into a hand as he sat up.  
  
"Exactly like your skull!" Remus muttered, then changing his tone. "No, I'm  
  
sorry, Padfoot...I just...nevermind." His voice shuddered a bit and he suddenly  
  
threw his arms around his friend.  
  
"Its okay,"Sirius whispered, thinking it was about the werewolf problem,"You  
  
won't have to go suffer forever. Surely they'll find a reversal potion someday.  
  
Besided, the next full moon is a long month away."  
  
Thoughts of his condition only brought Remus more grief.  
  
"I HATE being a werewolf!" he lamented. Suddenly all of his energy was   
  
drained.  
  
"Hey, Sirius, can you tell Lily I don't feel like eating dinner? I need to  
  
get some rest."  
  
Sirius stood up, looking back at Remus in a concerned way before he left the  
  
room. 


	4. As Night Falls

Note: Here is chapter four. It would have been up sooner, but I had trouble   
  
connecting to the site.  
  
James and Peter had managed to clean much of the mess from the kitchen. Everyone  
  
except for Remus and Lily sat at a dining roon table. A small lamp provided just enough  
  
light to illuminate the table and themselves. Lily appeared from out of the shadows,  
  
carrying a large glass dish.  
  
"Help yourselves," she said, pulling a chair out to sit down. It made a loud scraping  
  
noise.  
  
Five spoons dipped into the dish at once and came out covered in bread crumbs,   
  
ground meat, and dark green strings of something. They scooped it onto their plates.  
  
"Looks like some sort of whale vomit," James whispered to Sirius. Everyone heard,  
  
but pretended they hadn't. Sirius took a bite and whispered back,"What do you know? The   
  
whale vomit's not half bad. I wonder what the green stuff is, though."  
  
Lily leaned over and whispered,"It's spinach."  
  
Nobody noticed the change in Petunia. She remained more somber than usual, and   
  
looked pale. She was also the only one that didn't laugh at any jokes that were told.  
  
Petunia excused herself before anyone else and disappeared upstairs, telling them   
  
she was going to bed early.   
  
The time was 8:43, and they could tell by listening that the rain had tapered off  
  
to half its fury.  
  
Lily cleared her throat and began to speak.   
  
"Accomadations will go as follows: Peter, you and Sirius can share the guest  
  
room. Remus has already fallen asleep in the master bedroom, so I think we should just  
  
let him stay there for the night.James, you can stay in my room..."  
  
James elbowed Sirius under the table and broke into a grin. It fell, however, when  
  
Lily finished her sentence: "and I'll share a room with sister."  
  
She continued,"If anybody wants to take a bath or shower, we have an upstairs and  
  
a downstairs bathroom. Teh one upstairs also has a sauna built into the shower."  
  
Sirius scraped his chair backwards. "Really?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Great," he said,"I get it first."  
  
"I think I'll just go up to Lily's room," said James,"and try to find some nice  
  
bedside reading material." He was grinning again for some reason and had already made  
  
it upstairs when Lily thought of the journal on her nightstand.  
  
"Excuse me,"she told Peter, running after James. Peter deserted the table and   
  
headed towards the downstairs bathroom.  
  
*********  
  
Another hour and everybody was mostly settled. James had fallen asleep with his  
  
head buried in Lily's pillow and was dreaming about the next year at Hogwarts. Lily  
  
had set up a sleeping bag on the floor of Petunia's bedroom, noting that Petunia was  
  
absent. Probably up in the attic again, Lily figured. She reached under the sleeping bag   
  
and touched her private journal, which had been rescued just in time.  
  
"Maybe I should come up with a secret code to write in," she thought, while  
  
tapping Petunia's alarm clock with her wand. It set itself to go off at 8:00 a.m.  
  
SOMEbody* had to get up and make breakfast.  
  
Peter had already fallen asleep alone in the guest room. Sirius was still awake,  
  
his fingers pruning up in the sauna. Thoughts of cooked internal organs briefly  
  
crossed his mind, butwere forgotten just as quickly. He wasn't looking forward to  
  
sharing a room with Peter Pettigrew, who had a bad snoring problem and smelled like  
  
feet.  
  
At the same time, Remus was sweating just as much at the mercy of a nightmare.  
  
In it, he had killed a person as a werewolf and gone through a grueling trial. His sentence  
  
was suffering the werewolf transformation once every day, and in solitary confinement.  
  
"You may begin now," declared the minister of magic.  
  
The courtroom and everyone in it began to disappear and were replaced by a  
  
tiny room with white walls.  
  
Remus felt the familiar hot prickling sensation. It always began this way,  
  
before swelling to all-over agony, both internally and externally. The wolf writhed on   
  
the floor, howling to the walls.  
  
The image and pain faded, and Remus found himself tangled in the sheets of an  
  
unfamiliar bed. He remained in the dark while trying to remember how he came to be there.  
  
Then, it became clearer- this was Lily's house and the bedroom usually belonged to  
  
her parents. Remus wiped sweat off his face as a dull pain reminded him of skipping  
  
dinner earlier.  
  
Nobody would mind if he went downstairs to get something to eat. The house was dark   
  
and quiet except for the upstairs bathroom. A thin line of light could be seen from under  
  
the door, and he could hear the hiss of steam coming from vents inside. He walked past without  
  
even wondering about who was up this late, and found the stairs in the dark. They were   
  
uncarpeted and felt cold on Remus' bare feet. He recalled a vague memory of stumbling  
  
upstairs with Lily and Sirius...falling into a bed...someone removing his shoes.  
  
He tiptoed into the kitchen and opened the refridgerator. it illuminated a   
  
small portion of the room, which included black and white tiles along with navy blue   
  
cabinets.  
  
There was hardly any item of food that didn't require cooking in the refridgerator  
  
or cabinets. Half a loaf of bread stood alone on a counter. Remus cut it into slices and   
  
rummaged around for something to eat it with. His eyes fell on the stove, where  
  
Sirius had left the container of mint-flavored frosting. Better than nothing. Remus  
  
spread it on the bread like cake.  
  
The meal followed with a large glass of water, and he went back upstairs, experiencing  
  
a strange lightheadedness.  
  
There was an odd flickering light around the hallway's corner, which stood out   
  
from the pitch blackness of the corridor. Curious, and not tired enough to fall asleep,   
  
he looked around the corner.  
  
* I can't get the italics to work. 


	5. Unlikely Friends

There was a trapdoor on the ceiling and a rope ladder leading down. Remus climbed it  
  
slowly; he couldn't imagine going back to the bedroom and falling asleep after having the   
  
nightmare.  
  
There, he found Petunia, asleep on the wooden floor with one hand resting on an open   
  
book. Remus would have turned back at the sight, but there was a lit candle flickering  
  
wildly near the book, and he thought it would be wise to extinguish it before the house   
  
burned down. Trying to be silent, he crawled towards the candle and bent his head... then  
  
unintentionally saw what Petunia had been reading.  
  
A jolt ran over his heart. Her hand rested on a page with the heading "The Dangers  
  
of the Werewolf." It was probably a coincidence. It HAD to be purely coincidence!  
  
The floorboards unexpectedly creaked under his weight and Petunia's fingers moved.  
  
Remus froze in horror as she sat up and stared right at him!  
  
She realized what was happening and quickly shut the book.  
  
"I was only going to blow out the candle," Remus tried to explain while looking at  
  
his hands."How did you find out, anyway?" It was clear from the guilt on her own face that   
  
she knew.  
  
"I heard you talking to Sirius in the living room," she admitted," and I might as   
  
well admit a secret of my own if only to make things even between us. The truth is, when I   
  
got so angry today in the bathroom, it was because you really hit a nerve by mentioning  
  
the jealousy. In a way, it's true. I have wondered what goes on at Hogwarts since Lily  
  
came back from her first year. I'm sorry I slapped you."  
  
Remus nodded and moved towards the ladder. "Well, now you know I'm a werewolf and I  
  
guess you must be afraid of me. So, I'll just go and-"  
  
"Have another nightmare?" Petunia suggested.  
  
He stopped and looked up at her, noticing that she didn't look as bone-thin and   
  
austere in the candlelight. In fact, she looked a bit like Lily. Remus wondered if it   
  
made him look less frail, as well.  
  
Finally, he spoke.  
  
"How do you find out these things? By hiding behind furniture?!"  
  
"No," she answered, surprised," I listen at doors. It must have been a dreadful  
  
nightmare- you were yelling about something."  
  
He took a deep breath and said quickly,"I killed someone in my dream when I was  
  
a werewolf and I knew the person and they punish-"  
  
"Who?" she asked.  
  
He looked down again and answered, hoping she wouldn't hear.  
  
"It was yourself."  
  
If she hadn't wanted to avoid him just a few minutes before, that would surely do  
  
something to change her mind. He moved to leave again.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked. "It didn't really happen." Thin fingers with a strong  
  
grip wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back near the dusty bokshelves.  
  
"You're really not afraid of me?" he asked in disbelief.  
  
"No," she said, "I still like you more than the rest of Lily's friends from the, uh,  
  
Hogwarts."  
  
"Thanks," he choked out," As nice as it is to hear that from a magic person, it's  
  
even better from a muggle." Tears glittered in his eyes.  
  
Petunia threw her arms around Remus like he had done earlier to Sirius, close to  
  
tears herself. "I can think of many other people who deserved to be bitten more than  
  
someone like yourself." Every word she spoke was truthful.  
  
They didn't care that it had begun to rain again. 


	6. Breakfast

Note: I thought it would be better to have them start as friends because the romance   
  
between those two would seem more realistic in the slow-to-develop way. I'm glad it's   
  
turned out good, however.Thanks!  
  
It was, in fact, still raining the next morning. Lily had forced herself to wake up  
  
at 8:00 and make breakfast, even though she didn't have very much experience in cooking   
  
things from scratch.   
  
James was the next to wake up. Out of habit, he walked towards the bathroom. The door  
  
was locked and condensation had formed directly on the wood. It was cool to the touch.  
  
Downstairs, Lily had managed to make pancakes that were a bit raw inside, and toast.  
  
Having no clue what each person took their toast with, she set out peanut butter, real  
  
butter, and apricot jam. Just as she finished, Peter stumbled into the room, crashing   
  
weakly against an unfamiliar wall. His eyes were closed and watery. Next came Petunia and  
  
Remus. They looked like they had been awake all night. Unknown to the others, they had stayed  
  
up sharing stories about each of their cultures. (Wizard and Muggle). James entered alone,  
  
turning red from the effort of holding in his laughter.  
  
"What?" Peter finally asked.  
  
That did it. James collapsed on the tiled floor, laughing so hard tears streamed down   
  
his face. His words came out at random and were very unclear.  
  
"Prune...just look at him! He's...one big...wrinkle!"  
  
A foot kicked his side roughly.  
  
"It's not THAT funny," Sirius complained. "I fell asleep in the sauna last night. Not  
  
to mention, I also had this really creepy dream. I was in a dark cell and there were these  
  
horrible creatures outside..."  
  
James stood up and immediately interrupted. "What are we eating?"  
  
"The pancakes are raw in some places," said Lily," and burnt in others. I'm sorry."  
  
"About what?" asked Peter,"They taste better like that anyway. Plus you also made  
  
toast for us."  
  
"Right," Sirius agreed,"I think I'll have some of this." He uncapped the peanut butter   
  
while holding a piece of toast in the other hand, about to scrape some out with his fingers.  
  
Lily slapped his wrist and held out a spoon.  
  
"I wonder what was in that journal," James mused,"the way you charged in there to  
  
rescue it. Did you really think I was going to read it?"  
  
Lily shuddered on the inside. If James knew she had had feelings for Severus Snape  
  
during their third year... It made her shudder again.  
  
She changed the subject immediately. "Everything is here...we have syrup as well..."  
  
Lily absently handed out their best silver utensils. A loud scrape broke the   
  
routine as Remus pulled away from the table, which was followed by an uncomfortable quiet.  
  
She apologized briefly and took his set back, replacing it with steel.  
  
"Guess what," Sirius announced, breaking the silence,"It stopped raining!"  
  
He was correct.  
  
A couple hours later, the weather had improved enough for broomstick travel.  
  
Remus, the cleverest of the marauders, *(think of him as their Hermione) performed a   
  
charm on all four travelers to make them invisible for a temporary time, and they departed  
  
from the back yard. Lily said they were all welcome to come by for visits, as long as she  
  
knew in advance. When they were gone, she went back inside. Petunia, however, stood in   
  
the wet grass, staring up at the sky for some sure sign that the invisible wizards were   
  
gone. 


	7. Remus' Gift

Thanks for the reviews, as always!  
  
There was no sign of any marauder in the Evans house until about a month later.  
  
During that time, Lily had gone and visited James by traveling through the fireplace. Petunia   
  
had no idea how this worked, nor did she want to.  
  
The first actual visit came from Sirius and was nothing positive to speak of, for Lily,  
  
at least. It began one morning at 6:00 a.m. when the phone rang throughout their house.  
  
Lily was the quick to pick up the extension by her bedside before it woke up anyone  
  
else.  
  
"Hello?" she asked.  
  
"Padfoot here- I'm coming for a visit today, if there isn't any problem with that."  
  
Lily was both surprised and shocked, despite the early time. She didn't even know   
  
Sirius could use a phone. It would be nice to have a guest over, so she consented.   
  
"That's fine. Are you coming alone?"  
  
"Unfortunately," he said. "Last night was a full moon and Remus won't be in any   
  
condition to visit anybody. James is going to a quidditch match today without me, the   
  
ungrateful excuse for a best friend. Oh, and Peter has an ear infection. Really nasty, too.  
  
Lot's of green-"  
  
Lily cut him off."Ew, I DON'T want to know! Anyway, I'll see you later today."  
  
She hung up the phone and went back to her bedroom, unable to fall asleep again.  
  
Why, in the name of Merlin, had Sirius called right at dawn?!  
  
She stumbled into the bathroom and halfway shut the door before leaning over the sink.  
  
A mirror hung on the wall behind it. Ugh. One of her eyes was matted shut with some gunk and   
  
the other was red and crusty. Her nose was runny, and her hair looked like a bird's nest.  
  
She turned on the cold water and splashed it over her face, then shut it off. As Lily blew  
  
her nose, she froze. There had been an odd noise nearby, some sort of clicking sound.  
  
She turned slowly to face the half-open door, wondering if it had been imagined, when   
  
she heard it again. In the hall...  
  
Lily took her time in opening the door fully and looked out. The hall was too dim to see  
  
well.It was really getting scary. She made the decision to go back in the bathroom and lock   
  
the door when a third click sounded behind her. There had been a light that time.  
  
When Lily turned around, she faced the most infamous of the marauders.  
  
"Ha!" yelled Sirius. He held a muggle camera. "Don't even think about it, Lily. I  
  
put a charm on the camera and it's indestructable.  
  
Lily glanced at the nearby bedroom where her parents were asleep and shoved him  
  
downstairs silently. Then she admonished him.  
  
"I thought you would give me decent notice before breaking into my house while it's  
  
still DARK OUT and scaring me half to death! ARE YOU INSANE?!"  
  
"I did give you notice," he pointed out. "I called from your neighbors house. They're  
  
really nice people, too."  
  
Lily looked up and sighed,"There's nothing to stop me from murdering you right now."  
  
"Listen, I'm sorry," he answered tensely, "but I have to leave in 20 minutes for  
  
Diagon Alley and my mum doesn't know I took this trip here. Remus acted like this was  
  
really urgent, though, so I had to deliver it."  
  
"What?" she asked impatiently.  
  
Sirius ran outside and came back in with a cage.  
  
"He wanted me to have an owl?" She was confused.  
  
"No," he said ,"it's for your sister. Don't ask me."  
  
An envelope sealed with green wax hung from one bar of the cage.  
  
"I, uh, have to go right now," Sirius attempted to say,"I'll see you back at Hogwarts,  
  
I suppose. Hoggy, warty Hogwarts..."  
  
He disapparated, and Lily shut the front door. There was something she was trying to   
  
remember, something important, but her mind wasn't working to its full capacity so early in  
  
the morning. It was a few minutes after Sirius was gone that she remembered. The camera!  
  
Those blackmail photos! It was too late. She could only hope nobody else saw them.  
  
The owl hooted softly and she looked back at it. Lily kneeled on the floor and they   
  
stared at each other. The owl was snow-colored with a few dark feathers here and there.  
  
Along with the letter, a box of owl treats was tied to the cage with brown string. Of all  
  
people, Petunia! She was dying of curiosity to read the letter, but wisely chose not to  
  
disturb her sister's privacy.  
  
Lily knocked softly at one of the doors in the upstairs hallway and Petunia opened it  
  
slowly.  
  
She stood there looking impatient in an ankle length robe over a frilly purple  
  
nightgown.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" she whispered,"It's dark outside!"  
  
"You just got a personal delivery," Lily replied, holding out the cage. "Present from   
  
Remus. As far as I know, it was supposed to be really urgent. At least that's what Sirius  
  
told me. After he took blackmail pho- nevermind."  
  
Petunia accepted it and lifted it up to view at eye level.  
  
"Is it alive?"  
  
"Brilliant, Petunia! It's moving around on its own, so I guess it must be."  
  
"There's a letter," Petunia observed. She pulled it away from the bar and the twine  
  
snapped. She then closed the door on Lily, letting her know how personal the letter would  
  
be considered.  
  
Inside her bedroom, she carried the cage to a desk under her window and set it down.  
  
Petunia opened the curtains to read the letter by whatever light there was this early.  
  
"Dear Petunia,  
  
I'm sorry I never gto the chance to visit. If Sirius brings this gift on   
  
time, you'll be reading my letter as while I'm recovering from a transformation.  
  
I'll be going to Hogwarts in a couple of weeks and that is why I gave you an owl.  
  
They are the only postal system accepted in the wizard world. All you have to do   
  
is write a letter and tie it to her leg, then let her out the window. Just be sure  
  
to tell her who it's for and where to find them, literally. Give her water and  
  
owl treats after each trip she takes.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Remus Lupin  
  
P.S. Her name is Cleo." 


	8. Full Moon

This chapter will be a bit shorter than the others. Warning: If you really feel sympathy  
  
for Remus, you'll probably hate my guts for this.  
  
Petunia didn't know yet whether she liked the gift or not. She leaned over the desk  
  
and stared outside. The sky was a dark gray color, streaked with pink and blue lines, and  
  
the full moon still hung in the sky. It seemed to be in the last hours of its life, but  
  
clinging more stubbornly to the clouds than ever.  
  
At the same time, Remus had beenlocked in the basement for the night with a chain   
  
around his neck. His rational human mind was coming back to replace the wolf's as daybreak  
  
neared, but stuck in the in-between state, where thought and instinct waged their war against  
  
each other.  
  
He knew it was almost over.  
  
"I wish mum and dad would leave a clock in here somewhere..." The thought faded as he   
  
smelled blood nearby and realized it was his parents in the kitchen. Right above the basement...  
  
A longing for their blood beyond his control forced the wolf into charging full ahead towards   
  
the stairs.The metal chain held firm and yanked him back. They were still in the kitchen,  
  
only about 30 feet away and the scent of human blood was driving the werewolf insane.  
  
Outside, a wispy cloud drifted before the moon and his own human mind returned a bit   
  
more. Besides the actual transformation, this was the worst part.  
  
In the other room, one of the people moved closer to the door and it became almost  
  
unbearable. If only he could speak to them and put in words that they needed to back off...  
  
but sadly, wolves can't speak...  
  
He gave up and a sad howl echoed in the room.  
  
Another half hour and the moon faded completely. It was time; the familiar tingling  
  
began that meant his molecules were shifting around to a different form and the spine began   
  
to twist itself back to normal. Eventually, the howl of the pained wolf turned into a human  
  
cry. Then, the burning faded into tingling again. Finished...  
  
A door opened, sending a stream of light into the dim basement and both Mr. and Mrs   
  
Lupin ran downstairs with bandages and clothes. His mother was in tears of pain. It was  
  
almost as if she had to go through with her own transformation, minus the physical pain, of  
  
course.  
  
"How are your bones?" That voice was his father.  
  
"Worse..." That was all he could say; it had been worse this time than the last.  
  
Mrs. Lupin collapsed over her son, sobbing,"My child! My poor child!"  
  
Her husband thought for a minute of what to do. It was a dilemma, seeing that he was a   
  
muggle while she was a witch. "We will make an appiontment with the wizard doctor, but I  
  
want him to see a normal doctor as well this time. Something could be wrong that a potion  
  
can't repair by itself."  
  
Remus didn't feel like seeing ANY doctors, but wasn't exactly in the best position  
  
to argue against it. 


	9. Their Laments

Finally, it's here! I'm REALLY sorry about the long wait! Every time I had the chance  
  
to add the new installment, I just kept forgetting or had something else to do. But here it is.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Lupin sat with their son in a chilly room with white walls and a tile floor.  
  
It was such a shame hospitals and laboratories couldn't have a better decorating scheme...  
  
They had been waiting for an excruciatingly long time, but didn't know how long exactly, since   
  
the doctor had no clock in his office. (Ever notice how this is usually true in real life, too?)  
  
That reminded Remus.  
  
"Mum? Dad?" he askde,"I forgot to ask you before, but could you put some kind of time  
  
piece in thebasement from now on?"  
  
They looked at each other shortly and agreed.  
  
"One more thing," he continued, fidgeting nervously on the chair,"Would it be possible  
  
for both of you to stay out of the kitchen when I'm...a werewolf...it's the blood nearby   
  
that-"  
  
He stopped short as the door handle turned.  
  
"Yes," whispered his father discreetly as the doctor entered. He took time to shake hands   
  
with all three.  
  
"Good afternoon," he greeted them," I am Dr.Seal."  
  
"I'm Thomas Lupin," said the father, standing up briefly,"This is my wife, Yvette, and my  
  
son, Remus."  
  
Dr.Seal got to the point quickly by opening a file he had carried in. "I examined the  
  
x-rays and found a few things that need to be brought to attention. First, does your son play  
  
any rough sports?"  
  
"No," Remus answered for himself,"Why?"  
  
The doctor pulled out the first image of his spine and held it up on display. A chill  
  
ran through every one of the Lupins, but it had nothing to do with the cold air.  
  
"There are a few cracks along the vertebrae that are associated with trauma to the spine   
  
over a length of time," the doctor explained. He spoke for about five more minutes. "The damage  
  
is not life threatening or serious at this point and there is nothing we can do medically to  
  
it. The cracks must heal on their own. The process may take anywhere form six to ten weeks.  
  
Take caution not to aggrivate the injuries and if there is any pain, first try an over the   
  
counter medicine. If it doesn't help, come back and we can prescribe something stronger."  
  
Remus couldn't tell the muggle doctor that he had only two weeks more to let them heal.  
  
When he returned home, Cleo was waiting for him with a letter in her beak.  
  
He took the owl inside and sat in the living room to read it. There were only five  
  
lines of writing:  
  
  
  
"Did I send this correctly? Things here are terrible. Explosive fight with Lily and  
  
she isn't talking to me anymore.(Not like I want to talk to her, either.) Please write back.  
  
-The Muggle Sister."  
  
If the brief letter didn't say much about Petunia's situation, the even briefer  
  
conclusion revealed her distress. It was about the witch/muggle division in her family.  
  
Remus moved to the downstairs office aera and searched through a desk to find   
  
supplies for writing a letter.  
  
"Dear Petunia," it began," Cleo made the trip, but next time, make sure you tie the  
  
letter to one of her legs..."  
  
  
  
Back at the Evans house, the fight had begun with a careless remark from Lily, who  
  
found that a potion she planned on making required the participation of TWO people. None of  
  
her Hogwarts friends were available, and the careless remark had been something about her  
  
sister's inadequacies at magic. At least, that's what Petunia got out of it.  
  
She responded with,"How hard can potions be? I can imagine it's just like cooking..."  
  
Lily then pointed out that Petunia was a terrible chef, while bent over her cauldron  
  
in a contemplative way.  
  
"At least I learn useful things at school," Petunia said, more to herself, as a way   
  
of re-instilling her pride. Lily took it as an insult, but didn't say anything. That night  
  
at dinner, Petunia recieved Lily's revenge in her food. It took hours for the green color  
  
to fade from her skin. Lily hadn't even gotten in the slightest trouble for using magic on  
  
Petunia as revenge. Their parents had found it a funny and good-natured joke.  
  
Later that night, Petunia had discovered a note under her pillow. It read, simply,  
  
"Because green is the color of envy."  
  
That did it. Petunia would just have to get revenge, herself.  
  
She sent a letter to Remus the next morning and thought briefly of sending a letter  
  
to Cuba in Lily's name, praising Communism. "It would be incredibly funny," she thought,"when  
  
they send back a load of propaganda for Lily." She went over this idea while sitting on a sofa  
  
and staring at the picture frames on the opposite wall. Suddenly, the living room door opened  
  
and Lily swept in pompously, accompanied by their parents.  
  
"Were going to pick up supplies for your sister," said Mr. Evans,"Would you like to come   
  
along and see Diagon Alley? Lily says it's amazing."  
  
"No," Petunia answered softly. It was a lie; she really did want to experience a part,  
  
any part, of the magic world. Unfortunately, she didn't want Lily to know this, so she was  
  
forced to put up the front of not caring.  
  
Minutes later, Petunia was left alone in the house. The clock ticked for some time, then  
  
chimed twice. It was 2:00.  
  
Petunia sought for a new memory to replace the one of her fight with Lily, which had  
  
been plauging her for the last few hours. She settled on remembering the night the Marauders  
  
came. Jmaes had gone upstairs after dinner for some nice bedside reading material...  
  
Suddenly, Petunia fely very spiteful and malevolant. If she couldn't be at Hogwarts,  
  
she could at least read about it. Surely, Lily wrote about Hogwarts...  
  
The book was sitting right out in the open on Lily's bedroom floor, sticking halfway  
  
out from under her bed. There was no lock or magic guarding it. Petunia was disappointed  
  
that she wouldn't be able to tell Lily how easy she had made this. Before taking the book  
  
up into her hands, Petunia noted the position it was in on the floor. That would help her put   
  
it back exactly. Then, she lifted the cover.  
  
Lily had used a purple pen. 


	10. Lily's Secrets

Sorry this chapter's so short.The next will probably be longer, though  
  
Petunia flipped through page after page of names she didn't recognise for the most part,  
  
in search of something that concerned herself. She settled for a page where her name was   
  
mentioned once:  
  
"If anybody needs lessons in courtesy, it would be both James and Sirius. They were a bit  
  
childish and rude before, but it finally got to me when I witnessed them humiliating Snape  
  
for humor reasons. I even tried to intervene, but it didn't go over so well. Snape called me  
  
a mudblood and I gave up. James and Sirius probably just continued after I left. No use in  
  
getting through to them, even if James is pretty nice to me most of the time.Ugh, I can't believe  
  
I thought Snape was hot once...he would make a good match for Petunia, though."  
  
Petunia frowned; who was this Snape person? She didn't really want to know. Instead, she  
  
continued to read the tell-all book composed by her sister.  
  
"Sometimes, I think I should have been a Hufflepuff."  
  
"Boring," thought Petunia. She turned to another page at random.  
  
"Peeves knocked Marianne down a flight of stairs when one of his pranks went wrong. She  
  
broke her wrist and gto a black eye in the process. Dumbledore is now seriously thinking about  
  
getting rid of Peeves. I'm not sure if I would miss him or not."  
  
Another page.  
  
"James sent me roses. I was surprised at the nice change in him, from an immature boor to  
  
completely romantic. Anyway, I agreed to go to Hogsmeade next weekend with him. I hope I made   
  
the right choice. In other news, Sirius broke his nose in a quidditch accident. I'm shocked at   
  
the amount of blood that can come just from someone's nose. James once offered to teach me the  
  
game but I was afraid. It's so violent at times. I haven't told him how much I dislike Quidditch  
  
yet, so he thinks I'm a fan. Once, I heard that someone was impaled on a wand while playing. It  
  
was a rumor, but it COULD happen. Can't wait until Hogsmeade."  
  
This was boring, mainly because Petunia didn't understand even half of it. She returned   
  
the journal and went to her own bedroom to see if Cleo had come back yet. She had left the  
  
window open just in case. When Petunia entered the room, she smiled to see the owl waiting  
  
patiently on her bed and holding out her left leg. There was a letter attached to it. 


	11. Petunia's Birthday

And here it is...the long chapter!  
  
Her smile faded with every line of the letter.  
  
"Dear Petunia,  
  
Cleo made the trip, but next time, tie the letter to one of her legs. I'm sorry  
  
to hear about Lily. I'll have a talk with her if you want. Not that you should worry about me,  
  
but things are going quite badly for me, as well. My werewolf transformations are causing  
  
damage to my spine. We go to Hogwarts next week. I wish you could be there; don't hesitate to   
  
write me while I'm there.  
  
Best wishes, Remus"  
  
  
  
The letter made Petunia feel guilty. She was complaining about her sister while he had  
  
to suffer painful transformations every full moon. She re-read the third line and felt a new   
  
attack of envy, which came from thinking about Lily and Remus together for a full year. She   
  
didn't care if Lily ever wanted to talk with her again...she didn't WANT to talk to Lily!  
  
Petunia and Remus corresponded about once every two weeks. Petunia found another annoyance,  
  
one that she managed keeping to herself. She was entering her tenth year at a school for normal  
  
children and required 3 more years, while Lily only had 2 left before she could "graduate."  
  
Worse luck, that Vernon Dursley, who was2 years older than Petunia, kept pestering and  
  
even stalking her in hopes that she would go on a date with him. She didn't much care for him,   
  
and used the excuse that he was too old for her even though it was not by much.  
  
November 18th was Petunia's birthday. It so happened thaat Vernon knew and didn't think  
  
of hesitating to make a point of it. He cornered her when she was walking through a crowded hall  
  
to a cooking class; the crowd thinned out as they moved along together to give Vernon's wide frame  
  
enough room. It must have looked comical- he was the largest person (teachers included) at their   
  
school, while Petunia was the thinnest, even after gaining a bit of weight with a new rich diet.  
  
"I jave gotten word that today is your 16th birthday," he announced with an arm around her  
  
shoulder,"and that means we are only one year apart in age. Will you reconsider, my dear? I would   
  
enjoy greatly taking you out for dinner."  
  
There was something in his voice she didn't like. It was the tone of a man who revered  
  
himself too much and others too little. Vernon Dursley was simply too pompous and egotistical.  
  
He would make a good politician, Petunia noted.  
  
"I really am sorry to disappoint you, Vernon," she lied,"but I am already involved with  
  
another person."  
  
"Who?" he barked out, looking around as if he wanted to search out this boyfriend and  
  
maul him.  
  
"You don't know him,"she answered,"His name is Remus."  
  
Vernon frowned and stomped off in the opposite direction. Petunia gulped; she got rid of him   
  
but hadn't been exactly truthful in doing so. Not that anybody at Hogwarts needed to know...  
  
She walked home at 3:45 (what times do schools get out?) and took a shortcut through a  
  
forest. Petunia was surprised when Cleo joined her halfway through. The poor owl was flying  
  
dangerously close to the ground, burdened by several packages that probably weighed more than   
  
she did.  
  
"Loks like both of us nned to fatten up," said Petunia as she stopped to untie the parcels.  
  
Cleo hooted and looked at her as if she wanted to say something. Probably a thanks for taking  
  
them away.  
  
Petunia sat on the hard forest floor and unwrapped the parcels; Cleo landed nearby on a  
  
tree branch.  
  
"Oh, wow!" gasped Petunia.  
  
In addition to a letter and 5 birthday cards, she had recieved gifts from every one of   
  
the marauders and her sister. A small cake, a set of magic photos that moved on their own,  
  
a book about magical creatures, something called a remembrall, and a jar of some sort of powder.  
  
Petunia shared the burden of carrying everything home with Cleo, and they went into her   
  
bedroom. She had everything placed on her bed and looked at it closely.   
  
"What do you suppose this is?" she asked the owl while picking up the jar of powder,"It  
  
says it's from Remus." She put it down and took up the unread letter, which explained all of  
  
the amazing birthday gifts. 


	12. The Unordinary Gifts

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PETUNIA!" the letter said in huge writing at the top. Upon closer  
  
expection, she found that it contained five different handwritings. Lily's was first.  
  
"I told them it was your birthday, sis. I hope this makes up for the stupid fight we   
  
had earlier. The remembrall is my gift; it helps you remember things and stay organized. Just  
  
don't lose it or you'll never get it back. Love, Lily"  
  
So they were officially friends again.  
  
"These photographs I took are magic and the people in them move around on their own. I  
  
just thought you might like to see pictures of Hogwarts and the people we know and love (or  
  
hate). Feel free to send me letters as well; Remus isn't the only friend you have here. Best  
  
wishes, Sirius."  
  
Petunia didn't know yet how helpful those pictures would be in the next few days...  
  
"I snuck into the kitchen late at night with James and the house elves helped us bake  
  
this cake. We put a charm on it so it wouldn't fall apart in the mail or go stale. I hope  
  
you enjoy it. Yours truly, Peter."  
  
She wondered what a house elf looked like.  
  
"This book is to destroy any foolish ideas the muggles gave you that magical creatures  
  
don't exist. It was actually a text book here but you might find it interesting. Oh, and Lily  
  
wouldn't let me send you the book about Quidditch for some reason...Happy birthday, James."  
  
Petunia hoped he hadn't been serious about the Quidditch stuff. Especially after reading  
  
Lily's review of the game. Then, she remembered the last gift, and possibly the most mysterious  
  
of them all.  
  
"This is floo powder. It will give you the ability to visit Hogwarts if you use it  
  
correctly. Just take a handful, clearly say 'Gryffindor Common Room,' and throw it into a lit  
  
frieplace. I sent enough for more than one time just in case something goes wrong or it doesn't   
  
work the first time. Make sure you tell us before coming and only use it after 6:00 p.m. Good  
  
luck, Remus."  
  
She grinned while looking back at the cannister with its see-through walls. Immediately,  
  
Petunia thought of the next Friday. Maybe they would let her stay until Saturday if she was   
  
lucky! It was Tuesday, so there was plenty of time to give them notice.  
  
"Sorry, Cleo," she said while attatching a reply to the owl's leg."This needs to be  
  
rushed back to Lily and her friends immediately." She gave Cleo an owl treat before letting   
  
her out the window.  
  
Later that night, Petunia put off her homework to eat cake and look at pictures of  
  
Hogwarts. She had to become familiar with the surroundings before the visit. Sirius had  
  
included a picture of a house elf, which was short with huge ears and a long nose. Petunia's  
  
last thought before falling asleep over the photo album was that the house elf looked cute  
  
and ugly at the same time. 


	13. The First Muggle at Hogwarts

Petunia was excited on Tuesday, but by Friday morning had grown quite worried. What if   
  
she did the floo thing wrong and couldn't get back home afterwards to try again. Extra powder   
  
wouldn't do much good if she was stuck somewhere without it? What if she made it to Hogwarts  
  
but got in trouble there?  
  
That day, she stayed late at school to take a test she missed while being sick. Almost  
  
finished, there was a tapping sound at one of the windows and she turned around to see Cleo  
  
sitting on the window sill outside. Nobody else noticed, but then again, there were only two   
  
other people in the room. She nodded to the owl, as a way of saying without words ,"I'll be   
  
out soon" and hurried to finish her work.  
  
She ran out when it was done, stopping to place it on her teacher's desk and navigated  
  
the maze of hallways to find an exit. It was already 4:38- the work had been considerably  
  
difficult. Cleo descended to meet Petunia with a note that was short but important.  
  
"We can't wait to see you tonight!If you want to stay until tommorow, we're going to   
  
Hogsmeade then. It's a magic villaige, but I can't describe it in so brief a letter. Good  
  
luck."  
  
It was signed by her sister.  
  
The next half hour was taken up by packing a suitcase filled with essentials: a change  
  
of clothes, a pillow, blanket, etc. Petunia had told Mr. and Mrs. Evans the truth about where  
  
she planned to go. Being muggles themselves, they had no clue that outsiders at Hogwarts were  
  
not allowed. At 6:15, Petunia walked downstairs to the living room, where the fireplace was   
  
in use, almost shaking from the combination of excitement and fear. Risking evrything she  
  
had thought about earlier, she followed the instructions Remus had provided after a quick  
  
farewell to her parents.  
  
Remus had made a huge mistake in giving her instructions without details of the actual  
  
experience. That was why Petunia came out of the blazing fireplace in the Gryfffindor common  
  
room shrieking and sceraming.  
  
Not a second later, the marauders were sitting on the floor next to her with pleads to  
  
keep the noise level down.  
  
"Quiet, please," James whispered,"We already had a hard time in getting all of the   
  
other Gryffindors out of here."  
  
When she was silent, they all began to clap and cheer quietly.  
  
"Congratulations!" Sirius infromed her,"For being the frist muggle not only to use floo   
  
powder, but to enter Hogwarts...I think."  
  
"Tommorow," said Lily,"you'll be the first muggle in Hogsmeade. I know that for sure.  
  
Anyway, welcome to the Common Room."  
  
Remus helped Petunia to her feet and she looked around in amazement.  
  
"Okay, Sis," said Lily,"We can't have you walking around like you are now. If you  
  
wear robes, we can pull this off for the weekend, at least. I have some extras that will work  
  
and a sweater with the house colors on it. You can just wear those jeans that you have on  
  
already."  
  
"What's the house?" asked Petunia.  
  
James began to explain. "There are four houses at Hogwarts and-"  
  
Lily interrupted while taking one of Petunia's arms,"There will be time for that later.  
  
Right now we need to concentrate on making Petunia lok like one of us. Before any other people   
  
decide to come back."  
  
They disappeared into the girls dormitory area and came back a few minutes later. Petunia   
  
looked just like a Hogwarts student, and Remus noticed that a nice change had also come over  
  
her, which transformed the frail and thin Petunia of 3 monthes ago into somebody who looked  
  
more like Lily and had life.  
  
Over the evening, as the marauders filled her in on all the important details of life  
  
at Hogwarts, Gryffindor students came and went. None of them gave a second look to Petunia.  
  
She learned about such things as Quidditch, invisibility cloaks, and charms.  
  
There were a few empty beds in the dormitory, left over from the beginning of the year   
  
when a few more students were expected to come that never did. Petunia found the first night  
  
there odd. It almost seemed as if she couldn't tell what was real and what was a dream. 


	14. Hogsmeade

Wow! It seemed like all of a sudden I began getting reviews!Thanks everybody!  
  
It was snowing in Hogsmeade. They had to split up in the morning since Professor   
  
McGonogall was assisting the trip and would definitely know that Petunia didn't belong.  
  
Minerva McGonagall was young, in her 20's, but had a stern appearance about her,  
  
with the way her hair was severely pulled back and those rectangular-framed glasses she  
  
wore.  
  
Sirius and Peter took Petunia up to the third floor while everyone else bound for   
  
Hogsmeade headed to the front entrance. Peter led Petunia while Sirius kept his eyes on  
  
a map that would tell them where anyone else was at the time. The hall was relatively   
  
clear.  
  
"We made it ourselves," he said, noticing Petunia's curious glances at it. They  
  
stopped at a sattue of a one-eyed witch and Peter took out his wand, looking nervous.  
  
"Ready, everyone?" asked Sirius.  
  
Petunia nodded absently; she had been thinking about meeting up with Remus in  
  
Hogsmeade. They hadn't spoken much since she had arrived the night before. With her mind  
  
still on the werewolf, she didn't pay attention to the surroundings until they actually   
  
arrived in what seemed to be a storage room. The walls were a dingy white and boxes of  
  
things with odd names on the sides crowded the floor.  
  
"They have pepper imps this time!" Peter exclaimed while examining the contents  
  
of one box."They were out last time due to heavy demand. By the way, this is Honeydukes,  
  
the candy shop."  
  
Upstairs, Peter disappeared in the crowd of other people, and Sirius asked what  
  
Petunia wanted to do next. Seh could tell he wanted to stay but couldn't bring himself to  
  
desert her in such an unfamiliar place.  
  
"You stay," she said,"and I think I can find the others on my own."  
  
Immediately, and without much thought over it, Sirius deserted her in favor of the   
  
strange sweets that lined the walls and shelves of Honeydukes. The shop was so crowded,  
  
Petunia had a difficult time finding an exit. That was when she realized going off on  
  
her own might not have been the best decision.  
  
Outside, she shivered in the light snow that was falling. Tiny flakes drifted in   
  
the biting wind, landing and sticking to any surfaces they could find. Something tall and  
  
green passed by across the street, moving in the opposite direction. Petunia stopped in   
  
her tracks and turned around to stare at the ugly creature and wonder what it was. While  
  
doing this, she spotted three familiar heads through the window of a place called "The  
  
Three Broomsticks." 


	15. Almost Caught

Hey everyone, I'm back to say that I haven't dropped off the face of the  
  
Earth. Unfortunately, I broke one of my fingers in a door and found it impossible to   
  
type with the splint on.(And it also hurt pretty badly at first.)But I'm fine now. Here's  
  
the story!  
  
At a table near a window inside, everyone was reunited. Petunia tried to re-warm   
  
her hands, which were almost blue from the cold, while somebody used magic to summon   
  
extra chairs to the table. When everyone had been seated, they all looked at each  
  
other to see who would speak first. Petunia took the oppurtunity.  
  
"Wow, it's wonderful here!" she tried to say all at once."The sweets shop is   
  
unbelievable and the owls flying around! The man on the street! He was green! Is this   
  
real?"  
  
All of her companions burst into laughter.  
  
"Every bit of it!" James finally answered. "The man on the street was probably-  
  
oh, no- here comes trouble..."  
  
All eyes turned quickly to where he was staring in horror as the hugest man  
  
Petunia had ever seen (even larger than the troll) strolled in through the entrance.  
  
"Hagrid?" asked Lily, "He's harmless."  
  
"No! Look who's with him!" Sirius whispered. Minerva McGonagall followed the huge  
  
man and they stayed at the entrance for a few seconds to greet someone. A few more   
  
Hogwarts professors came in.  
  
"You're right," Lily agreed, nervously ,"If they catch us sneaking in a muggle,  
  
we will be punished so badly, I can't even think of what the punishment would be."  
  
Sirius counted on his fingers in a sarcastic voice," All of our house points gone,  
  
expulsion from Hogwarts, our wands taken away, we'll have to deal with the Ministry..."  
  
James hit Sirius over the head. "Stop joking! This is serious!"  
  
"I am too!" Sirius yelled back. Nobody could tell if he really was serious, or just   
  
making another joke out of his name. At any rate, half of the people inside the room  
  
turned their heads to stare at the person who had just yelled, as is human nature.  
  
Quickly and smoothly, Remus shoved Petunia under the table.  
  
"Who has the cloak?" he whispered.  
  
Silently, a hand slipped it under the table with Petunia. She didn't know who had   
  
done it but understood what they wanted her to do. As she drew the cloak around herself,  
  
Lily leaned under and whispered,"Go outside immediately and stand in front of Honeydukes.  
  
We'll meet you there."  
  
Fearing for both herself and the marauders, Petunia did exactly what Lily had   
  
instucted.  
  
It seemed that a year had gone by before they finally met her in front of the sweets   
  
shop.  
  
"Sorry," Remus explained,"The professors stopped us on our way out to chat about   
  
how our classes are going at Hogwarts. You know how something always happens when you're  
  
frantically trying to get somewhere. And we didn't think it would be a good thing to explain   
  
our crisis to McGonagall..."  
  
"Anyway let's get out," James suggested.  
  
"We ARE out,technically," said Sirius,"We're outside..."  
  
"Out of Hogsmeade, you moron!" exclaimed his friend.  
  
As they walked the secret tunnel back to the castle, Remus pulled Petunia to the   
  
back for an apology.  
  
"I'm sorry we couldn't have stayed longer," he said, wanting to add "without the   
  
others." Petunia guessed at the unspoken part by the tone of his voice. She was good at   
  
that.However, she made no attempt to bring it up.  
  
When they arrived, a new problem faced the group: finding floo powder to get  
  
Petunia back home. 


	16. Petunia's Mistake

"There is some floo powder in the potions storeroom," said James."But the question  
  
is which one of us is going to get it?"  
  
"You should go," Sirius told Remus," Professor Katz might believe you if you say the  
  
floo powder is for Dumbledore. After all, you are the most believable one out of the   
  
rest of us marauders..."  
  
"I'll do it,"Remus said,"but only to help Petunia."  
  
They headed underground and stood outside the door to the potions room as Remus went   
  
in. He left the door open partially and they crowded around to watch what they could of the  
  
dangerous scene.  
  
"Excuse me," a snotty voice said from behind, causing them all to jump. "What are all  
  
of you doing down here anyway?"  
  
Petunia didn't like the voice; it sounded too condescending. The person it belonged  
  
to had grimy, unwashed hair and wore a green sweater under his robes. His arms were folded  
  
as he scowled at them.  
  
James stood out from the group and answered smoothly," We're waiting for Remus, who  
  
is getting something for Dumbledore. Why aren't YOU at Hogsmeade?"  
  
"Extra credit for Potions," he said, pushing past them to enter the room. Before he   
  
completely disappeared inside, Sirius leaned forward withhis wand out and whispered something   
  
quickly. A horse's tail appeared at the back of the unfriendly wizard's robes.  
  
James, Sirius, and Peter fell to the ground, snorting and shaking in a fit of laughter.  
  
"Who was that?" asked Petunia.  
  
James sat up. "That was our worst enemy, Severus Snape. He's the filthiest, slimiest,  
  
most disgusting-"  
  
"Give it a rest," Lily groaned. She had been laughing too, however, at Sirius' prank.  
  
Petunia shook her head. "And you thought he would be a good match for me!"  
  
The air froze immediately after those words were spoken, and Petunia found that she  
  
couldn't come up with more words to defend herself. Lily stiffened and her usually soft  
  
countenance hardened.  
  
"I never said that."  
  
The words were forced, and Petunia realized that she knew.  
  
"I never said that," Lily repeated, this time more angrily.  
  
"It was an accident!" Petunia choked out. Her throat was so dry, swallowing without   
  
pain was impossible.  
  
"Sure!" Lily answered with blistering sarcasm. "Somebody hypnotized you into reading  
  
my secrets! No, I suppose somebody put it in front of you, held a wand to your head, and  
  
ordered you to read!" Her voice shook and tears of both rage and betrayal glimmered in her   
  
eyes.  
  
"It happened half a year ago!" Petunia cried. "After we had that really bad fight. I'd   
  
never do-"  
  
"Go ahead!" snapped Lily."We're fighting NOW! Why don't you just tell the whole of   
  
Hogwarts what you know!"  
  
Petunia's feelings of helplessness were suddenly replaced with a desire to strangle  
  
Lily with her own hands, but... Lily had asked for something much easier.  
  
With James, Sirius, and Peter standing in a shocked silence from the sides, she   
  
announced in a clear voice," I will. You thought Snape was hot in your third year, you  
  
hate some guy named Peeves, you think James and Sirius act like rude children sometimes,  
  
you're afraid to play a game called Quidditch but lied to James and told him you liked it,  
  
and... I don't know what a mudblood is, but someone called you that so I guess you are one!"  
  
Lily's face drained until it was the color of snow, and she stared at Petunia in a   
  
very emotionless way for an eternity of time.  
  
Petunia backed up, thinking she had gone too far; Lily looked like she would attack  
  
someone with no warning. To Petunia's surprise, her sister turned away and sobbed into her   
  
hands. (Note: Imagine how offended she was to be called a mudblood by her own sister.)  
  
Before running away alone, she warned them: "I'm going to McGonagall! She's back  
  
from Hogsmeade by now, and it was a bad idea bringing you to a place you don't belong!"  
  
James and Peter chased after her, but Sirius remained in a state of shock where he  
  
was standing.  
  
Remus appeared at the door of the potions room with floo powder and confusion.  
  
Before he could ask what went on, Petunia explained.  
  
"She went ot tell the professor! It's my fault! I made her angry!" An accurate   
  
description of the incident was hard to create on the spot.  
  
Remus breathed out harshly and tensely.  
  
"We're in trouble," he said,"The house points! We could be expelled!"  
  
He ran off without even looking at Petunia, and a great despair filled her inside and  
  
out. 


	17. Aftermath

This chapter is short, but important to the story  
  
  
  
Petunia made the mistake of escaping farther into the unfamiliar dungeon   
  
area, where she was soon lost. Trying to return, to the upper world, she only  
  
exacerbated the problem. It wasn't her fault if the wet walls and slippery floors  
  
all looked the same in the darkness.   
  
Finally, she gave up and sat down against a wall in one room that seemed  
  
warmer than the others. Petunia curled her knees up to her chest. Now that she was  
  
sitting still, the threat of getting lost was overtaken by thoughts of what she  
  
had done. The scene replayed in her mind like some movie she was forced to watch.  
  
Remus didn't care about her. Now, it was clear.  
  
Sirius stood where he had been left, thinking about how he would be serving  
  
more time in detention with the marauders. A door opened and a few seconds passed  
  
before a foot kicked him hard near one of his ankles.  
  
"What?!" He turned around and faced an outraged Snape, who pointed at his   
  
backside. "Get rid of it, Black! I know you did this!"  
  
It was just another annoyance that Sirius didn't feel like taking care of.  
  
"Please, Snape, like I care." he said passively,"SOME of us have REALLY  
  
important problems to fix."  
  
"Important problems," Snape repeated thoughtfully,"Do things like wars and   
  
Marburg count?"  
  
"Marburg?" asked Sirius.  
  
Snape sighed like he was talking to a dunce and said," It's a virus they just  
  
discovered that causes people to bleed from every orifice."   
  
Sirius couldn't tell where this conversation was leading to, but he answered the   
  
truth: "Of course they count! To muggles, at least."  
  
"Good that you think so," Snape simpered, pulling a wand out of his robes and  
  
speaking the words of a jinx that was completely unfamiliar to Sirius. The effects  
  
were instant and drastic; warm blood seeped through his orifices and Sirius found   
  
himself doubled over from stomach pain. He didn't know the removal.  
  
"Now you can tell me what it's like to have a real problem, and I might believe   
  
you," Snape commented boredly while standing over him."Such a shame you didn't pay  
  
attention during your Defense Against the Dark Arts class. This jinx's removal is   
  
elementary level."  
  
Sirius drew in air and yelled like he was being murdered.  
  
Snape tried to run away, but Professor Katz was too qiuck for him. She opened  
  
the door just as he reached the end of the corridor.  
  
"Severus Snape!" she barked. "Get back here RIGHT NOW! What have you done?!" 


	18. Dumbledore Sorts it Out

Professor Katz performed the anti-jinx for Sirius and removed Snape's horse  
  
tail. Then she led them upstairs to Dumbledore's office. He was not in at the time,   
  
so they joined Lily, James, Remus, Peter, and Minerva McGonagall in waiting for him.  
  
"What's wrong, dear child?" A kindly old wizard bent down in front of Petunia.  
  
His long beard brushed the floor.  
  
"Too many things," she said, feeling as if she had nothing left to keep in  
  
disguise."The story is too long, but my sister hates me, I've just lost the best  
  
friends I have ever known, and I have to leave."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I'm a muggle!" She looked away to say the truth, then hid her face   
  
in the borrowed robes. "Unless you can do something about it, I will never see  
  
this place again..."  
  
"No," he answered,"You are correct in the knowledge of your departure, Petunia.  
  
There is a reason as to why you weren't born a witch. Don't ask me to tell you what   
  
it is; you can figure some things out on your own."  
  
"I don't care why," she said,"but I would like to know who you are and what   
  
else you already know about me."  
  
"I'm Albus Dumbledore," he said,"the headmaster of Hogwarts. I know that you   
  
have a crowd waiting in front of my office. Follow me,please, this way..."  
  
The wizard helped Petunia off of the ground and led her out of the dungeons.  
  
She didn't know whether to feel happy about getting out, or frightened at where he  
  
was leading her.  
  
Half an hour later, everybody recieved their sentences. Their entire plot had   
  
been revealed in Dumbledore's office, while they sat on soft furniture and drank hot  
  
chocolate.  
  
The headmaster stood up after a long silence and said,"I understand that rivalry   
  
exists between the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses, but I expect a civility towards one  
  
another, despite this.  
  
"Severus Snape, I am deducting 30 points form Slytherin for the use of a 'profuse  
  
hemorrhage' curse on Sirius Black. I will also have a few words with the professor who  
  
thought such a curse was vital to their class...  
  
"Lily Evans, Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. 10  
  
points from each of you will be deducted from Gryffindor, as punishment for sneaking   
  
a muggle into the magic world without permission. That equals 50.  
  
"Petunia Evans, you shall be returned home in one hour. That allows for time to  
  
make your last farewells. Is everything understood?"  
  
They looked around at eachother and everyone but Petunia agreed.  
  
She stood up to adress the entire room, and announced,"I'm sure there is no need   
  
for any 'last farewells.'"  
  
Nobody moved as shewalked out of the office alone.  
  
They all filed out silently when a few more minutes of grave silence ahd gone by.  
  
Peter followed James and Lily, while Remus deserted them to walk somewhere on his own.  
  
Sirius, however, was already thinking about revenge. Despite the things that  
  
Dumbledore had just told him, the best idea entered his mind as they left the office.  
  
"Hey, Sna- I mean Severus,"he called, while running to catch up to his rival.  
  
The other stopped and listened.  
  
"Well, Dumbledore's words really meant something to me," he lied," and I think  
  
we should try to get along from now on." He held out a hand, and Severus warily shook   
  
it. "That may be wise," he agreed with Sirius,"but I think no possibility exists of a  
  
real friendship between us."  
  
"Is that so?" asked Sirius."I'll share something with you, but it MUST be kept   
  
undercover.Only the marauders and some professors here know about it...I bet you're  
  
dying of curiosity to find out where Remus gets to go every month..." 


	19. Outside

Author's Note: Guess what? I'm back! (After about half a year of internet problems and other distractions) But I'm back!  
  
Petunia had wandered aimlessly again in an attempt to while away the hour without running  
  
into anyone. Unfortunately, there were people in every hall. She felt a deep hatred for them, wished  
  
to see them all in some sort of pain, regardless of the fact that they were all complete strangers to her.  
  
There was always the dungeons area, but she couldn't bear the idea of passing by the place  
  
where the incident had occured. The whole idea of so much damage from so few words amazed Petunia.  
  
However, there she stood, paying for what had been done.  
  
Her eyes locked on the front entrance, which led to the viciously cold outside world. Nobody  
  
in their right mind would follow her into the freezing temperatures out there, when they could be  
  
sitting in front of a fireplace, covered in blankets and drinking hot chocolate.  
  
The image was comforting, but she destroyed it before losing the courage to exit through the  
  
doors.  
  
Luckily, it had ceased snowing for the time being. Petunia walked to the left, with the intent  
  
of putting space between herself and Hogwarts. 20 minutes later, she ended up at the wizarding  
  
school's farthest boundary, a ledge overlooking train tracks. They were located about 150 feet  
  
below, making it a place one wouldn't lean over the edge of. Petunia kept a far distance from the  
  
end, as the ice made the ground slippery.  
  
First, she would destroy every gift they had given her. She became aware, while having  
  
these thoughts, of the scarf wrapped around her neck. She had come to like its presence in the  
  
current weather. But it reminded her of Remus, and she also despised it for that reason.  
  
The scarf was made of wool and striped in the Gryffindor colors.  
  
Petunia removed it and stepped towards the cliff, holding it out as fas as possible. The  
  
ends were blown about in the wind.  
  
A voice she had been plagued by, in both good and bad times, stopped her.  
  
"Please don't do that. If you don't want to keep the scarf, I'd like it back." 


	20. A Beginning and an End

"Has there been a tracking device placed on me?!" Petunia cried in anger."Or were you  
  
there beside me the whole time under one of those invisible cloaks?"  
  
"Neither!" he answered, laughing."I can find people easily with my delicate senses. Do  
  
you want the scarf or not?"  
  
She hurled it back at him and began to walk back towards the castle, adding,"I don't  
  
need a person in my life that cares more about house points more than people..."  
  
"Petunia Evans!" Remus warned, his voice suddenly tense and irate."If you take one  
  
more step away from me, I swear on the lives of all Witches and Wizards that I WILL use my  
  
wand!"  
  
She turned around, truly shocked to see that he held it out, aimed in her direction.  
  
"What are my other choices?" she asked.  
  
"The ONLY choice," he said,"other than being sent back in time to ancient Egypt, is  
  
to hear me out! Today, you made a mistake and Lily wouldn't hear your explanation. Don't  
  
do the exact same to me now."  
  
"Then I'd advise you to begin explaning," she notified,"because at this point, ancient  
  
Egypt is looking pretty nice."  
  
He did. "Just because your sister has a problem with something as trivial as you reading  
  
something personal of hers doesn't mean I do! Even though you probably shouldn't have...by  
  
the way, do you happen to remember if there was anything in there about me?"  
  
"No!" she tried to yell. However, it didn't come out as a yell.  
  
This led to silence.  
  
"Is there something you would like to tell me?" he asked. His voice was patient and  
  
considerate, the kind that brought Petunia so close to tears as she was becoming.  
  
"I'll tell you," she agreed, "but only because we'll never see each other again after today.  
  
Vernon Dursley, you don't know him, wouldn't stop pestering me to go out to dinner with him  
  
at some expensive restaurant. And he asked me on my birthday, since I was closer in age to  
  
him then, which had-"  
  
"I must interrupt here," said Remus." First of all, why are you never going to see me  
  
again after today? I'm not really going to send you back in time; I don't even know if that's  
  
possible. Also, you can go and tell Vernon that he's not the only one...how would he like a  
  
werewolf as his competition?"  
  
Petunia laughed as she imagined a werewolf chasing that oily, egotistic Vernon through  
  
a forest.  
  
Remus put awaythe wand and said,"See, we've gotten somewhere now."  
  
That reminded her.  
  
"Whatever happened to your spine injuries?"  
  
"Skele-gro,"he answered."It tastes like poison and I have to take it each transformation,  
  
but it rebuilds bone!"  
  
Remus fell silent and stared at Petunia for the longest time. It seemed as if he wanted  
  
to laugh at something. Finally she asked,"What?!"  
  
"Well," he explained,"I WOULD kiss you right now, but you're wearing a silver necklace."  
  
Petunia removed the jewelry, which had been a gift from Lily, and threw it over the edge  
  
of the cliff. Then she fell into his arms.  
  
Perhaps this was the end of the volatile relationship with her sister, but a new one was  
  
currently filling its void. 


	21. Christmas Eve

5 years later...  
  
Petunia was nervous. It was Christmas Eve and she would be hosting a party/family  
  
reunion later that evening. Most of her tension stemmed from one thing: the sister she had  
  
not spoken to or seen for three years. It all began with the invitations. Of course she had to  
  
invite Remus. He had been the first person she thought of. And, of course, hehad insisted on  
  
bringing his old friends: the marauders and Lily.  
  
James and Lily were married, but Petunia didn't know much about their life because  
  
of the frayed relationship with her sister.  
  
The guests would be expected to arrive in about 4 hours. Petunia yanked open the  
  
oven door and pulled out a hot tray full of garlic breadsticks. She only had a few seconds to  
  
marvel at their perfection before changing the oven's temperature and placing a new tray in,  
  
which held uncooked ribs in barbeque sauce.  
  
She set a timer before turning to the dish on the stove and mixing ingredients for a  
  
dipping sauce to be served with the breadsticks. She glanced at a box of storebought  
  
scones on a nearby table and tried to think of what else she needed to do.  
  
The doorbell to her apartment rang and she remembered the catering company that  
  
was going to be doing half the work.  
  
"You're early," she commented while opening the door, assuming the caterers had  
  
come.  
  
"I wasn't aware I'd been set on a schedule,"Remus answered. It was only him.  
  
"I was expecting the catering company," Petunia explained. "You'er welcome to come  
  
in anytime."  
  
She became very aware of the flourand food stains on her grubby apron. Why had  
  
he come anyway? To help?  
  
She asked him if that was why he came.  
  
"No," he said nervously."But I have a gift for yiou that couldn't wait. I sort of cancelled  
  
the catering service and made arrangements with something better. Think of it as an early  
  
Christmas present."  
  
He opened the door and several house elves filed in.  
  
Petunia seemed very confused.  
  
"You have their services for the next three hours," he said. "They're qiuck and provide  
  
excellent work. Just don't give them any clothes. I'm serious."  
  
Remus wondered if he had done the right thing, from the way Petunia stared at the  
  
elves. He made an excuse to leave, kissed her quickly, and exited.  
  
Left alone with tehewide-eyed and big-eared elves, Petunia didn't know what to do  
  
first. She attempted a request.  
  
"I need help to cook both traditional holiday food and snacks for the guests," she said.  
  
"No,"squeaked one of the tiny creatures."You doesn't help us. WE is doing all the  
  
work. We house elves is excellent chefs."  
  
It seemed unnatural, but Petunia stayed out of their way, reading a book in her  
  
bedroom instead. The time passed unnoticed, and brought a soft knock at her door.  
  
She followed the elf into the rest of her apartment, being careful not to step on him,  
  
and stopped abruptly at the scene. Not only had they cooked and put on display the most  
  
beautiful selections of food she had ever seen, they had set up elaborate decorations.  
  
"What is this?" she asked in a near-whisper.  
  
"Is you not liking it?" asked the elf. Tears brimmed in his eyes.  
  
"It's wonderful!" she told him. He cried anyway, tears of joy. The other elves couldn't  
  
help themselves and followed suit. Whaen they were finshed, one elf stepped forward and  
  
held out a small metal dish with a cover on top.  
  
"Take it," the elf urged."We is baking this under SPECIAL request."  
  
"From whom?" she asked.  
  
"Nice man," said the elf.  
  
They all bowed, bid her good day, and filed out the door. So Remus had given them  
  
an extra job on the side.  
  
She lifted the cover and dropped it in shock.  
  
In icing on top of a cupcake, in writing so tiny that only the hands of a house elf could  
  
have accomplished it, were the words "Will you marry me?" 


End file.
